TIBET, 18TH CENTURY

Khedrub Gelag Pal Zangpo was born in Tsang in 1385. He was given this name at age seven when he became a novice monk. He studied at the Sakya monastery of Ngamring Chode, and later with Rendawa Shonu Lodro, from whom he received full ordination. Khedrub-je received teachings on Tsongkhapa and soon became one of his most devoted disciples. He then returned to Tsang to become abbot of the Changra monastery and also founded other monasteries in Gyangtse. In 1431, at age forty-seven, Khedrub-je was asked to take the golden throne of Ganden monastery, becoming the third monk to occupy the seat after Tsongkhapa and Gyaltsab-je. There, he taught extensively, gave many initiations and personally trained some of the most renowned scholars. Khedrub-je passed away in 1438 at the age of fifty-three. For an exceptional bronze figure of Vajrabhairava and Vajra Vetali, the deities depicted at top right, see lot 4023.